Final game of the famous "Three Rivers Jinx." David Woodley plays at QB in a downpour. Gary Anderson kicks game winner as time expires. The dazed look of sheer agony on Art Modell's face at the end of this game gives me such pleasure! Seriously edited huddles (ugh).

That Woodley long TD run was a thing of beauty... called back unfortunately.

Last win in the curse of Three Rivers. I'll never forget how po'd I was the next year at that roughing the kicker penalty, which basically gave them the game and broke the curse. Wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway, but it was still a horrible horrible call.

Final game of the famous "Three Rivers Jinx." David Woodley plays at QB in a downpour. Gary Anderson kicks game winner as time expires. The dazed look of sheer agony on Art Modell's face at the end of this game gives me such pleasure! Seriously edited huddles (ugh).

On paper, the '85 version of the Steelers doesn't look much different than the previous edition which went to the AFC Champ. What do you think went wrong that season? I was too young to be a fan but I'm sure this 1985 was quite disappointing.

(06-18-2017, 04:37 AM)Guest Wrote: On paper, the '85 version of the Steelers doesn't look much different than the previous edition which went to the AFC Champ. What do you think went wrong that season? I was too young to be a fan but I'm sure this 1985 was quite disappointing.

Well... we were 9-7 in '84 and 7-9 in '85. Two games made the difference. Scott Campbell started 2 games at QB... and lost both games. So if you're looking for a simple answer, maybe that's it: Scott Campbell. But the reality is, the only reason we made the playoffs in '84 was that we were in a terrible division. We were not a good team and I think most fans knew it was somewhat of a fluke that we made the playoffs.

That said, we were on a bit of a hot streak in '84. We were 6-6 and then won 3 of our last 4 regular season games. In '85, we were 6-6 and then lost 3 of our last 4 games.

So while it was disappointing (it's always disappointing when you miss the playoffs), it wasn't surprising at all.

(06-18-2017, 04:37 AM)Guest Wrote: On paper, the '85 version of the Steelers doesn't look much different than the previous edition which went to the AFC Champ. What do you think went wrong that season? I was too young to be a fan but I'm sure this 1985 was quite disappointing.

Well... we were 9-7 in '84 and 7-9 in '85. Two games made the difference. Scott Campbell started 2 games at QB... and lost both games. So if you're looking for a simple answer, maybe that's it: Scott Campbell. But the reality is, the only reason we made the playoffs in '84 was that we were in a terrible division. We were not a good team and I think most fans knew it was somewhat of a fluke that we made the playoffs.

That said, we were on a bit of a hot streak in '84. We were 6-6 and then won 3 of our last 4 regular season games. In '85, we were 6-6 and then lost 3 of our last 4 games.

So while it was disappointing (it's always disappointing when you miss the playoffs), it wasn't surprising at all.

Thanks for the reply. Somewhat disagree about the '84 team being not very good. They ranked 8th on offense and 5th on defense. 4 of the 7 losses were by a FG or less. They should have been at least 10-6 because the IND game was a fluke at the end.

Just looked at some stats from '85. With the exception of the 5 TD performance in the opener, Malone was pretty bad while Woodley and Campbell were worse. While the defense remained solid, they did not force as many turnovers. Overall, I guess I'd agree that poor QB play was the reason for the decline. Somebody earlier posted that with a healthy Bradshaw, this team wins a weak division and has a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Maybe so but they'd have zero chance against the Bears.

(06-18-2017, 06:27 AM)Guest Wrote: Thanks for the reply. Somewhat disagree about the '84 team being not very good. They ranked 8th on offense and 5th on defense. 4 of the 7 losses were by a FG or less. They should have been at least 10-6 because the IND game was a fluke at the end.

Just looked at some stats from '85. With the exception of the 5 TD performance in the opener, Malone was pretty bad while Woodley and Campbell were worse. While the defense remained solid, they did not force as many turnovers. Overall, I guess I'd agree that poor QB play was the reason for the decline. Somebody earlier posted that with a healthy Bradshaw, this team wins a weak division and has a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Maybe so but they'd have zero chance against the Bears.

I hear you. But I'd be careful relying "too" much on the stats. As is often the case, they can deceptive. Keep in mind, I didn't say we were a bad team; I just said we weren't a good team. Our overall talent level was slightly average. We were a relatively solid team, but in a better division, we would've been watching the playoffs from home. But our coaching was excellent. Noll squeezed every last drop out of the '84 Steelers. One of his best coaching efforts. Great receivers and a focus on the ground game (i.e., controlling time of possession to shorten the game) helped cover the awful QB warts a little and improve our defensive stats. And the defense, while not great, was definitely opportunistic. That said, I don't think their ranking in terms of points was as good as their ranking in terms of yards, which is a sign of a team that MUST establish ball control and eat the clock to win. This was a team that could never, EVER win a shootout.

Never mind old man Bradshaw in '85... just think if we'd drafted Marino!!! Marino to Stallworth and Lipps with Chuck Noll prowling the sidelines?

The only team that was going to beat the '85 Bears was a healthy '76 Steelers team. Although I believe the '75 and '78 teams could've probably taken them as well.

Good discussion. Even in the dark years of the '80s, the Steelers were always tough on Montana and the 49ers. If they had drafted Marino, they win the Super Bowl in '84 and are a contender for the rest of the decade and maybe win one or two in the '90s. Lipps could have been a HOFer if he was consistently healthy and had a decent QB throwing to him.

(06-19-2017, 12:48 AM)Guest Wrote: Good discussion. Even in the dark years of the '80s, the Steelers were always tough on Montana and the 49ers. If they had drafted Marino, they win the Super Bowl in '84 and are a contender for the rest of the decade and maybe win one or two in the '90s. Lipps could have been a HOFer if he was consistently healthy and had a decent QB throwing to him.